It lets us get so much more done easily. This morning, Will and I split up another load of wood with our cat, Mittens, and dog, Hondo’s help, of course. They always keep a close eye on us. When Will hauled the load to the woodshed, I headed for the Main Garden and pulled a row of Crawford dry beans to shell out.

Will, Hondo and Mittens, heading out to split firewood this morning.
Here’s our set-up. The little Kubota carries the wood in; Will stacks it in the bucket. I sit on my little stool and run the splitter. Mittens and Hondo lie in the sun and watch us.
After splitting a big load of firewood, I went down and picked more Crawford dry beans.

Yesterday, my main focus was canning up some of the hundreds of jalapeños into Cowboy Candy. I always double or triple the syrup recipe so I can also can some of that up to use later to make Cowgirl Candy (sweet peppers) or Gaucho Relish, from our Striped Sugar Rush Peach hot peppers. Then, the syrup left over from that is used in a wide variety of ways, nearly daily. I put it in stir-fries, drizzle it over baked chicken breasts, pork roasts and even ham. I always put a bit on my pizza toppings too. Wow, so very good! And, as I still have a crate full of jalapeños left, I’m making a lot of Cowboy Candy this fall.

This is the Cowboy Candy I canned up yesterday and the extra syrup to use later.

We’ve been asked why we put up so much food in our pantry, when there’s just the two of us. Well, there are a lot of reasons. No, we aren’t hoarders or hard-core “preppers.” We have family and friends, who, if the SHTF, might need to come or at least receive some food. (Will’s been in the Marine Corps, so anybody would be kind of stupid to come to steal from us!) Then there’s emergencies like COVID. Hey, it could have gotten worse and lasted much longer, causing who knows what to happen. Or kids losing a job, going through hard times or illness. Or us experiencing illness, such as cancer (been there/done that), heart attack, surgeries, etc., where canning wouldn’t be possible. But we still would have food to eat. Add to all that and there’s the fact we’re getting older. Hey, I’m 80 this year and realize that there may come a time I cannot can as much as I do now. Those emergencies could still be looming and I’m not waiting around on my butt, waiting for help. So, yes, we do put up as much food as possible, every year we can.

just had to show you the sun shining on our beaver pond this morning. So pretty!

Today, I’m going down to the barn and pulling out a couple of our biggest watermelons to make watermelon rind sweet pickles. We really love them and the store-bought ones are full of chemicals and don’t taste nearly as good — like everything else from the store. Now I see they’re producing and selling printed fake beef. OMG, what will they come up with next? We like ours in white packages, in the freezer or on the hoof, in the pasture thank you. — Jackie

38 COMMENTS

  1. Being self-reliant has removed Fear for me. I hate fear because it causes people to do foolish things. Whether there is war, weather, economic, or societal breakdown due to the hatred that seems to be everywhere, my peace comes from the hard work and knowledge of caring for what I have. Our eggs are from the neighbor, our meat is bought and butchered locally–which I can and freeze–as well as my garden produce. But yes, we will always need to purchase other items, too.
    My shelves aren’t as full as I want, my sourdough doesn’t rise well, and my homemade noodles are too thick, ha! So this labor of love is a continuing effort, never completed, but very rewarding. Life is Good!

  2. I get a lot of not too subtle comments about “hoarding”. To me, having a full pantry and freezer is common sense. My grandparents did it and it got them through the Depression while raising their families. It got me through more than a few difficult times when dh was unemployed … once for 3 long hard years. I didn’t shop for 8 weeks during Covid, never missed a meal and other than fresh stuff would not have shopped after 8 weeks. I’m not bragging, I’m just sharing what I consider common sense. I save by shopping once a month since it’s a 50-mile round trip to stores. My community no longer has a grocery store although we have a Dollar General such as it is.

    Being in town I’m dependent upon electric, natural gas and town water which makes me nervous but cannot be helped. I keep a good supply of water stored in my basement. Lately, when I can, if I have an empty space, I can quarts of water. I can exclusively in pints and have something like 24 dozen empty quarts. I also reuse canning lids for the water and so far, all have sealed. If they don’t seal, I’d just leave the ring on the jar and call it good.

    • Good for you, Anna. As you’ve found out, having what you need is a huge blessing when times get hard suddenly. We’re not looking to the zombie apocalypse but want to be as prepared as possible for any future hard times.
      I don’t can water as we have a dependable well and I need all my jars plus more. But it does give you a good supply of water, handy, should town water fail. You might also consider filling a few 5 gallon water containers for such things as toilet flushing or dish washing, should you need more.

    • All it takes for me is to watch the run on the grocery stores in my area when snow is predicted. Heck, in the town where we used to live, people would shop every night for something to eat (and not those who got paid daily – for those folks I get it).
      Or watch the news when a hurricane is due to hit.
      I agree with having water to flush toilets/boil to wash dishes. Or filling the bath tub with water is a power outage is a concern.
      I’m still making the case for a whole house generator (odds are better the natural gas supply is less at risk than the grid). Better half’s interest is peaked by this battery system from a texasistan company. An IT guy in the Chicago burbs gushes about it but was required to change his electrical service to metered (think that is what they call it( aka run the washer or shower during “peak” usage and pay the gouge price – which I am *not* interested in.

  3. We too dislike the term”prepper” would much rather think it’s just good common sense
    Question. Are you running your wood splitter off the PTO on the other tractor? M

    • Yes, we run the wood splitter off the PTO. We like this as the tractor always starts, where sometimes log splitter Briggs and Stratton doesn’t want to, after a few years’ use. I’ve been using this splitter for 24 years with not a single issue.

      • That’s what I thought. Is it a separate pump or do you just use the hydraulics on the tractor itself. Have a small Kabota and was thinking of running a log splitter off the hydroids but didn’t know if it had enough power to run a 3” cylinder or did it need to run from a separate pump off the PTP shaft.
        This would make a good article for the magazine!

        • Reg,
          We run ours off the tractor hydraulics with the (wallenstien) log splitter, mounting to the 3 point. Your tractor should be fine with a 3 cylinder tractor, 30ish HP?. 2 short hyd lines, which are the same lines I can hookup my backhoe to. Not only is it nice for splitting but great to lower the 3 pnt to roll on rounds instead of having to lift the bigger ones.
          Good luck,
          Bill

  4. Wow! Jackie, you are an inspiration!
    I love reading about your adventures,
    canning wisdom and recipes!
    What a true blessing you are to so
    Many!
    -Sharon

    • Isn’t it fun to go to the store and walk the aisles, thinking “I don’t need that, and that, and that…” Our food tastes so much better and I don’t feel like I’m eating poison.

  6. Jackie, I have followed your blog from early on (I think you were divorced?) and I still love your take on things; plus, the pictures are balm for the soul. I canned like a mad woman the first of the season because I knew I had to have knee replacement surgery. I got a lot done and even managed to sit and shuck corn, snap beans and can tomatoes with the help of my husband. I really think he is beginning to enjoy it too. You will be surprised what you can do while sitting down. There is something satisfying about rows of beautiful, canned produce on your shelf! And I sure do not want any man-made meat! My Amish friend grows a lot of heirloom tomatoes, and we love the Jerusalem Hearts. They look like a big heart, are very meaty and make wonderful sauce. If you ever get seed for them, I think you would love them. We are preparing here for the blow through of the hurricane. It is supposed to come through here and bring wind; but much needed rain. I’m in southern middle Tennessee. So, saying prayers for all. It is still hot; but winter is knocking on the door.

    • Nope, my late husband, Bob, died of a brain bleed in 2005. When I schedule my elective surgeries, it’s in January, when most of the heavy work is done. My knees didn’t turn out so well, so I do a LOT of work, sitting down, especially in my solar powered golf cart. I pick pole beans, many tomatoes, sweet corn and more, sitting down. I’m doing watermelon rind pickles today and tomorrow. They’re labor-intensive, but so very good!
      Yes, we’re praying for those in the hurricane’s path and hope it doesn’t do too much damage. I’ll have to check out Jerusalem Heart tomatoes. They sound very good.

  7. Thank you for the beautiful photos Couldn’t get along without our 4 legged helpers. Triple Cowboy sirup is definitely a good idea!Do you ever can up the extra? For… new batch of candy,relish or just refrigerate? Thanks for sharing your experience and lifestyle

    • Yes, I do can up my extra syrup. Not only do I use it later for various relishes, but I also put it on and in a lot of recipes. I pour it into a plastic condiment container, like catsup comes in, in restaurants, to make it easy to drizzle on things like chicken, pizza, etc. Very good!

    • I totally get you! My near vision is still pretty good, but far….not so hot. I’ve got to go get an eye exam and new glasses. Phoey!!

  9. We too have accused of putting up too much food a there is just two of us. Can you ever have too much? I personally have had the MI – now years ago and no income. Having savings and store foodstuffs eases the burden. We are fortunate to have 4 of our 5 sons nearby and the use our “stores” like a grocery store. We also donate to the local food pantry. As I tell my sons what else should we two “old birds” be doing? Prices keep going up and I’m fearful too many are overextended. A great deal of our assets are tied to farm land rental and that is concerning. Oh well, we can live on Mars where there isn’t a bucket of water, no oxygen or food. Could send out your cowboy candy recipe. I’m not a prepper but I do like to be prepared/if that is possible.

    • I hate the term “prepper”. We’ve always called what we do homesteading and stocking up. It sounds and feels less crazy, as we’re not dwelling on politics or conspiracy theories, not waiting for the end times with fear. We just do as much as we can to take care of ourselves and those who might have to depend on us.
      We also donate to the local food pantries, but are disappointed that they can’t take produce, only store-bought canned and dry foods. Doesn’t make sense, does it?
      I agree that a whole lot of people are over-extended financially. Those darned credit cards make it so easy to swoop up those gullible enough to pay all that horrible interest, just to have things NOW. We have one, and it is only for emergencies. Being debt-free in these times is a huge blessing we’ve worked for, for years.
      Cowboy Candy is very easy to make. Here’s the recipe I use:
      3 pounds jalapenos
      2 C vinegar
      6 C sugar
      1/2 tsp celery seed
      1/2 tsp turmeric
      3 Tbsp granulated garlic
      Remove stem from jalapenos and slice about 1/4″ thick, crosswise
      Mix vinegar, sugar and spices into a large pot. Bring to a rolling boil and boil 5 minutes. Pour jalapeno slices into boiling syrup and bring to a boil. Boil 4 minutes, stirring to mix up the slices. With a slotted spoon, pack 1/2 pint jars to within 1/4″ of the top loosely. Ladle hot syrup over peppers, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Debubble. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. I also strain the seeds out of leftover syrup to make it less hot, then can the syrup too. I often make double the syrup recipe so I can use the syrup later for various relishes.

      • The food pantry in the town where dad lives encourages people to donate/grow a row, have a very nice “produce stand” behind the pantry, AND have a set up once a week once it gets to where harvest starts.
        While I think some folks should keep their boat sized zukes (and some cukes), I was heartened to see a lot of potatoes in the produce stand. Frankly, I don’t care who puts my excess produce to good use. I hate food waste. I am by no means a religious person (by definition) but food waste is a sin. As well as a black-eye on our country.

        • I totally agree with you that wasting food is a sin. I’m always very happy when someone comes to get some produce for us at no charge.

  10. The picture of the beautiful beaver pond looks so peaceful! What a healing view. And Mittens & Hondo do look like great helpers lol. There’s been a couple of dry warm (up to 80’s) weeks here after 3 weeks of cool rain. Field crop harvest is going strong, some losses due to corn & soybeans sprouting and molding in the field from the rain. The tomatoes I planted are all gone, but one volunteer is giving us some nice cherry tomatoes. Funny because I haven’t planted a cherry tom for several years! Hopefully we can start on wood next week weather and the Good Lord permitting. Happy Fall to all!

    • I love seeing the sparkling sun on the water out there, plus the colorful fall leaves on the trees beyond it.
      Yep, Mittens and Hondo sure do their jobs keeping us in line.
      We often get volunteers too, usually potatoes or tomatoes. If they’re not in the way, I leave them, figuring them a gift from God. Happy fall!!

    • Yep, nobody will look out for you better than you can, yourself. Just see what happens after a disaster, just trying to get food and water to those stranded, let alone feeing them over the long haul.

  12. I think its great that you preserve so much. Its becoming a lost art. I do as much as I can, no pun intended, but don’t have a lot of raw materials but do what is possible. I buy stuff in bulk and even that is getting pricey. Years ago I preserved a lot but the small farm was sold to make way for houses. My church used to preach self preparedness but not so much anymore. Doesn’t it say something about a “thief in the night” I really feel hard times are coming. Thanks for your inspiration and wisdom.

    • Yep, I just am shocked at the amount of ingredients in, say, a store-bought loaf of bread! For heaven’s sake, bread shouldn’t last for a month on your counter.
      Having a full pantry is such a joy and blessing!

  14. Oh the picture of your beaver pond is beautiful!! That would make a great card front!! I dislike going to the store. How do you know where the chickens came from or the pork and now the beef?? Its beyond crazy. I patronize the people who can tell me where that cow came from or pig or chicken and what they ate. Just plain crazy. You are right about canning ahead. You never know when you will need it. Thanks for sharing!!

    • I, too, like knowing where my food comes from and how it was raised. Especially when they’re creating frankenfood like lab-raised chicken and beef! Wow, that’s beyond over the edge. Yuck!

  15. A person in the small town where I grew up grew muskmelons in the river flats just across the state line from where we all lived. They were so good – I never remember my mother buying them from the store. Nor sweet corn for that matter. She did buy eggs from the store which came from a local (like 4 miles from the grocery store) egg producer.
    As long as your food stores won’t spoil, you’re good. And frankly, it is no one’s business why anyone stocks supplies.
    I am not a ham fan (burn out from family get togethers then the one food that nauseated me when pregnant) but your syrup sounds really good on chicken (paternal side) or pork (maternal side). No ingredients that require a search on one’s phone!
    Like Everett (prior blog post), Indian summer here too. Going to be humid this weekend due to the weather in the south. Won’t last long but not so humid I can weed the strawberry patch Saturday and Sunday. Expecting seed garlic to arrive any day now. I don’t see a frost in our forecast anytime soon. Not good IMHO. Farmers have started to harvest soybeans – hoping the beans are sold not going into storage. We’ll see about corn. No farmer wants to dry corn – especially this year.
    I had planned on dropping down to 4 days a week at work but this messed up economy worries me. I have not committed yet.

    • Yep, the economy is sure messed up! And going to get worse pretty soon, too. Farmers and truckers can’t afford diesel to keep going and crops are bad in a lot of areas, to say the least. We’re making all the “hay” right now that we can, literally and figuratively.

      • Diesel is $8/gal, here in far north California. Unleaded, 5.59/gal. Maybe the issue will spur our gubernatorial race; but, I doubt it.

    • I’ve saved my bulbils from my garlic flowering and used them so I can be self sufficient, should there be none left on the shelf at the nursery.

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